Polystichum setiferum ‘Densum’

We know that Polystichum setiferum has many forms with lots of confusing names. This form is immediately recognisable - evergreen, small (rarely more than 1ft x 1ft) and very soft and delicate. Soft to look at and soft to the touch. Filmy, frothy and pale green. Enough adjectives for now. Light shade, good soil. Easy to grow but see below.

If you have a new house and a new garden (especially in an area where clay predominates), the chances are that your garden has been 're-profiled' by the developers : clay compacted by heavy machinery, then covered in a few inches of topsoil. The process of turning this into a garden will be gradual and largely accomplished by your addition of organic mulch, the bacteria that breakdown the mulch and the worms that assimilate the broken down mulch into the ground. This is a part of the process of creating soil. If this is the starting point, there are lots of things that will establish and begin the process but unfortunately, ferns are not one of them. Either grow them in a pot or wait for a few years. Ferns are fuss pots and will only grow in good friable, well drained soil with lots of organic content.

Propagated by us by frond cuttings.